Sunday, May 21, 2017

For all the tools every Pope has at his disposal, it could be said that Francis wields none more effectively than the element of surprise.

Ergo, at today's noontime Regina Caeli from the Window of the Apostolic Palace, Papa Bergoglio called a Consistory – his fourth – on the vigil of Peter and Paul, 28 June, for the creation of 5 new cardinals, all of them electors:

Here, a rush translation of the Pope's announcement, in which Francis framed the rationale for his choices:

Dear brothers and sisters,

I wish to announce that on Wednesday, 28 June, there will be a Consistory for the naming of five new cardinals. Their hailing from different parts of the world manifests the Catholicity of the church spread across the whole world and the assignment of a titular or diaconal church in the City expresses the attachment of the cardinals to the diocese of Rome that, as the well-noted expression of St Ignatius says, "presides in charity" over all the churches.

On Thursday, 29 June, the solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, I will concelebrate Mass with the new cardinals, the College, with the new metropolitan archbishops, bishops and some priests.... Let us entrust the new cardinals to the protection of Saints Peter and Paul, that with the intercession of the Prince of the Apostles, they might be authentic servants of ecclesial communion and, with that of the Apostle of the Gentiles, they might be joyful messengers of the Gospel for the whole world, and, with their witness and advice, they might sustain me more intensely in my own service as Bishop of Rome and universal Pastor of the Church.

* * *

With the new additions, the electoral College will be restored to 121 members – one over the now-traditional limit of 120 set by Blessed Paul VI in 1975. Of the total group, 49 (40%) will have been elevated by Francis.

Even for their nomination today, cardinals-designate don't enjoy their voting rights until their names are published within the Consistory itself.

Following quickly on the heels of November's intake of 17 new cardinals, while some buzz has circulated over recent weeks tipping a late June encore, the rumors had foreseen what would've been a historic super-sizing of the voting ranks – an idea which has circulated for some time, possibly ballooning the papal electorate as high as 145 or even 150 members.

Even on just a temporary basis, there is precedent for such a move: at his first Consistory after the Jubilee Year of 2000, now-St John Paul II had expanded the voting College to 135 cardinals by elevating 44 prelates younger than 80 – Jorge Bergoglio among them. (Speaking of John Paul, it also bears noting that each of today's designates were named bishops by the Polish Pope.)

In any case, even if the final Biglietto is far smaller than would've been expected, the group strikes a fresh blow for the inclusion of the church's "peripheries" in the ranks of the Pope's "Senate" – with the exception of Omella, each of the designates are the first cardinals ever to hail from their respective countries; aside from the Spanish-speaking picks, the new crop all lead miniscule Catholic communities comprising less than five percent of their general populations.

The first native Swede named a bishop since the Reformation (after centuries of missionaries serving the country's small Catholic community), Arborelius will be the first-ever cardinal on duty in Scandinavia. And in the choice of Rosa Chavez – one of the closest collaborators of Blessed Oscar Romero – at least for the first time in the post-Conciliar period, not only has an auxiliary bishop been given the red hat, but likewise a cleric currently serving as pastor of a parish (which is, of course, the historic foundation of the office, the original cardinals having been the pastors of Rome, hence the task of electing the city's Bishop).

As for the timing, beyond the topping up of the voting ranks, it is likely that this Consistory will see Francis convene the now-routine daylong consultation with the entire College on the eve of the elevations, which was conspicuous by its absence in November. Despite the short notice, a hefty chunk of the far-flung cardinals already tend to be in Rome in late June as the dicasteries of the Curia wrap up their last plenary meetings before the summer exodus.

About Me

One of global Catholicism's most prominent chroniclers, Rocco Palmo has held court as the "Church Whisperer" since 2004, when the pages you're reading were launched with an audience of three, grown since by nothing but word of mouth, and kept alive throughout solely by means of reader support.

A former US correspondent for the London-based international Catholic weekly The Tablet, he's been a church analyst for The New York Times, Associated Press, Washington Post, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, BBC, NBC, CNN and NPR among other mainstream print and broadcast outlets worldwide.

A native of Philadelphia, Rocco Palmo attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. In 2010, he received a Doctorate of Humane Letters honoris causa from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St Louis.

In 2011, Palmo co-chaired the first Vatican conference on social media, convened by the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Social Communications. By appointment of Archbishop Charles Chaput OFM Cap., he's likewise served on the first-ever Pastoral Council of the Archdiocese, whose Church remains his home.